Buffalo, NY — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·New York·Buffalo

Erie County · Buffalo-Cheektowaga · population 276,617

First-time buyersBig-city amenities
Buffalo, NY
Image: Wikipedia · Buffalo, New York
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
70
Rising
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Buffalo stands

At or near all-time high.

Median home $241,380
1-year +3.7%
5-yr CAGR +6.7%
vs 5-yr peak +0.0%
Population -0.2%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2026-04$241k$86k$141k$196k$251k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
64/100
Somewhat walkable
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
52/100
Some transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
82/100
Excellent for remote work
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$1,390/mo$996$1,236$1,476202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent138131100120140202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 14.5
Buy

At a 14.5 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Buffalo on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 14.5 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
69 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
73 · w22%
Distance from peak
90 · w18%
Population growth
43 · w16%
Rent YoY
63 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
88 · w10%
Long thesis

Buffalo has held up across the cycle: home values at $241,380 with +6.7% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Buffalo's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Buffalo

Buffalo is a city in Erie County, New York, with an estimated population of 276,617. It anchors the Buffalo-Cheektowaga metro area. The median home value in Buffalo is $241,380 as of 2026-04, up 3.7% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +6.7% annual growth, with prices at or near the 5-year peak. Rents in Buffalo average $1,390 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+2.6%). The composite momentum score is 70 of 100 (Rising). The market is healthy with prices supported by underlying demand.

▲ Bull case

●Affordable AND rising: median home $241,380 with positive recent direction — rare combination most of the country can’t offer.
●Healthy 5-year run: +6.7% annualized over 5 years, outpacing US inflation.
●Quiet strength: +3.7% over the trailing year — not a melt-up, but the market is bid.
●Held the highs: currently +0.0% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.

▼ Bear case

○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Buffalo (Wikipedia)

Buffalo is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It lies in Western New York on the eastern shore of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River on the Canada–United States border. It is the second-most populous city in New York, with a population of 278,349 at the 2020 census. The Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, with over 1.16 million residents, is the 2nd-largest metropolitan area in New York State behind only the NYC Metro, and the 51st-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Buffalo is the county seat of Erie County.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorSean Ryan (D)
Area52.48 sq mi
Elevation600 ft
First Settled (Village)1789
Density6893.41/sq mi
Named forBuffalo River

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Things to see in Buffalo(Museums and tourism)

  • Delaware Park
  • Travel + Leisure
  • Buffalo AKG Art Museum
  • The Buffalo News
  • Jeffrey Gundlach
  • Burchfield Penney Art Center
  • Charles E. Burchfield
  • Buffalo State College
  • Freedom Wall
  • Future Anterior
  • Project MUSE
  • Buffalo History Museum

+17 more on Wikipedia.

Extracted from the Wikipedia article. Names linked in the source — open the city’s Wikipedia page for details.

Playbook

Buyer

You're not in a frenzy but you're not getting bargains either. Make a competitive offer with normal inspection terms. Don't lowball — the listing will move with or without you.

Seller

Price at fair market value; expect movement in 30-45 days. Don't get clever with terms (rent-back, contingencies) — buyers in a Rising market have options.

Investor

Appreciation tailwind exists but cash flow requires discipline on price. Run the numbers conservatively and confirm rent comps before committing.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Erie County right now.

NWS active alerts (NY)New York Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Erie County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Buffalo

55 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Albright$696,545+2.6%
2Park Meadow$590,552+4.5%
3Waterfront$564,208-0.2%
4Delaware-West Ferry$442,606+5.7%
5Bryant$426,204+2.5%
6Parkside$411,141+5.9%
7Delaware Park$388,958+5.7%
8Allen$387,925+2.3%
9Starin Central$372,873+4.8%
10Snyder$356,241+3.5%
11Columbus$334,860+7.4%
12North Park$321,136+3.3%
13Eggertsville$289,851+2.1%
14South Abbott$260,710+1.7%
15Kenmore$259,183+1.4%
16University$244,296+3.5%
17Forest$242,335+6.9%
18Front Park$241,314-1.8%
19North Delaware$237,031+8.7%
20Abbott McKinley$228,623-1.6%
21Blasdell$225,528+8.2%
22Willert Park$222,917+2.3%
23Lakeview$221,045+4.2%
24Lackawanna$212,077+7.2%

See the full neighborhood ranking →

Cities like Buffalo

Albany, NY72 · RisingTroy, NY71 · RisingMiddletown, NY72 · RisingFreeport, NY69 · Rising

Run the numbers for Buffalo

ToolCan I afford Buffalo?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Buffalo rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Buffalo to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolBuffalo cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
33° / 19°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
82° / 63°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
183
~50% of year
Annual precip
41″ rain
60″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Moderate
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
Very low
Earthquake
Very low
Flood
Moderate

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Buffalo-Cheektowaga area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Buffalo listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.